Paleocene

Pa·le·o·cene

[pey-lee-uh-seen or, esp. British, pal-ee-] Geology.
adjective
1.
noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, from 65 to 55 million years ago, and characterized by a proliferation of mammals. See table under geologic time.
noun
2.
the Paleocene Epoch or Series.

Origin:
1875–80; paleo- + -cene

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

Paleocene
geological epoch preceding the Eocene, 1877, from Fr. paléocène (Schimpter, 1874), coined from paleo- + Gk. kainos "new" (see recent). It is, thus, the "old new" age.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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00:10
Paleocene is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Paleocene   (pā'lē-ə-sēn')  Pronunciation Key 
The earliest epoch of the Tertiary Period, from about 65 to 58 million years ago. During this time, the Rocky Mountains formed and sea levels dropped, exposing dry land in North America, Australia, and Africa. Many new types of small mammals evolved and filled the niches left empty after the extinctions that ended the Cretaceous Period. Soft-bodied squid replaced the ammonites as the dominant form of mollusk. See Chart at geologic time.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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